"Listen to each drop of rain,
Whispering secrets in rain. Franticly searching for someone to hear,
That story be more than it hides,
Each droplet long gone?
Can't we stay for a while?
It's just to hard to say goodbye Listen to the rain."

-Evanescence 'Listen to the Rain'-

Kagome stood silently once again in front of the taiyoukai. And once again, she was surprised not only by her reactions, but by his as well. Years ago, had someone such as her pinned him to the tree with an arrow, death to the trespasser would have been swift and sure, now he almost seemed docile as he stood there calmly. Lord Sesshomaru docile? She would see once she unpinned him from the tree.

"This Sesshomaru does not learn a lesson from a lowly miko. This Sesshomaru only learns what he truly wishes to learn."

At this, Kagome's dark brow pulled up into a questioning sort of glare, matching quite nicely the one that he had given her not even a few minutes ago. Years ago, she might have giggled to hear him talk of himself as he did, third-person perspective. It would have just tickled her fancy to hear his alarmingly beautiful voice speak as it just had. Now, it only served to remind her that Lord Sesshomaru would never learn a lesson that he himself didn't teach.

"Hai, well I did say that I would pull you from the tree this day, and although I notice you have learned nothing at all, I shall keep my word. For that is all that we left, when we have lost it all ne?"

She stepped forward, her hand firm on the shaft of the arrow. As her muscles tightened down, and she was close to ripping it from his shoulder, a lavender light flooded down the shaft and into the form of Sesshomaru. The arrow was placed into her quiver, she would be able to use it again, if she did not have to sharpen the arrowhead before she did so. She watched as the taiyoukai rubbed at his shoulder, only to find that the wound was gone. He turned quizzical eyes towards the miko. She had healed him as she had pulled the arrow away. Surprised to find that her back was turned to him and she was quietly making her way far from him.

"I did not say you were free to go MIKO!!"

Kagome would have said she was shocked to hear such anger and irritation coming from the demon, but she wasn't. She did not suppose that he would forget that he had been pinned to a tree for a full night. That Sesshomaru never forgave things such as that. She could barely hear the movement of his booted feet on the ground as he came towards her. He was going to grab her no less, and kill her for her ningen ways.

Of course before his arm could wrap around her and pin her to some stationary item, she crouched low, feeling her muscles bunch in her legs before she let them recoil, releasing her into the air. She tucked her knees to her chest, flipping two times in the air before she landed behind the taiyoukai. His surprise was apparent, but it wasn't enough to throw him off track. He whipped about quickly, slashing his claws effectively in front of him. Kagome jumped back, only the front of her shirt suffering from his claws. Revealing creamy patches of skin at her collarbone and across her stomach, she jumped farther back again till she was pressed against the same tree that she had pinned Sesshomaru to.

The bleeding-red eyes of the demon flickered in surprise when her skin was revealed to his eyes. He could smell the blood that pumped quickly underneath such an expanse of skin, and he wanted to taste it. While he did not harbor immense feelings of rage towards the miko, he wanted to taste her blood, and decide if it too had undergone a change as it's mistress had. He quickly followed up with his claws, as he used his massive body to keep her close to the bark of the tree.

"Nostalgic ne? I was beginning to wonder if you miko, follow in the same steps as my bastard brother."

Using her own words against her, he pulled his claws up across her cheek, his own heartbeat ragged in his chest. The demon wanted to burst out so bad and just rip the tender flesh of her throat away. While his senses told him that her heartbeat had sped up from her movements, he could still not sense fear from her, nor the hot waves of anger. What was with her? In a roar of frustration, he pulled his claws back, only to shove them literally through her left shoulder, till he could feel his claws imbed into the bark. He expected some sort of scream, or spike in her scent, but neither of these things occured. She remained just as impassive as ever, though her dark blood ran in rivulets down his wrist and arm to puddle beneath.

Inside of course, Kagome growled at the pain that flared throughout her shoulder. She had a higher pain threshold, she knew how to control her emotions to an irritating level, but that did not mean that she did not feel pain. And this pain in her shoulder was immense. In his actions he had completely torn her muscles from their bone, not to mention the force of his blow had broken the collarbone. Inwardly she bit her lip, inwardly she started to scream from the pain that slowly started to build in force, but Sesshomaru would never sense any of it. Instead, all he could sense, was that she took a deep breathe, before she finally forced it to speak.

"Gomen Lord Sesshomaru for pinning you to this tree overnight. Forgive this miko for her actions."

She tilted her head back as she felt her vision fade from her lose of blood. She wanted to fight against it, but the prospect of being completely out, where she could not feel one thing, or anything at all was too promising. Sesshomaru, the Lord of the Western lands, stared at the miko with open shock at her words as she lost consciousness.

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"Good morning day,
sorry I'm not there.
But all my favorite friends,
vanished in the air.
It's hard to fly when you can't even run,
Once I had the world, but now I've got no one."

-Three Days Grace 'Drown'-

She had assumed her unconsciousness would be blissful, black and void of memories or emotions from the past. The young miko was sorely wrong, and paid dearly for letting herself pass from the world of the aware. The blackness had started out as nothing more. A thick cloud of hue that surronded her as she slept of the pain of her injury, her miko powers slowly healing the damage. But than a form stepped from the clouds, the instant flash of white and red making the miko reel back. Soon, it was none other than the hanyou Inu-yasha that stepped up to her. His golden eyes were swimming with tears, his face streaked already with the liquid. She could see it in his eyes, she did not even have to look towards the dead miko behind him. He took his hand gingerly in his own clawed grasp.

'Kagome....'

She closed her eyes harshly, knowing what it was that he was going to speak to her with. She felt tears prick at her own eyes, which she had tried desperately to flick away without another thought. Why could she not keep this dead demeanor about her when he was standing in front of her? He pulled the reluctant girl into his embrace, his arms tight across her back, his face buried into the strands of her dark hair. She could hear him inhale her scent as deep as possible. Did he not want to forget about her? Did he really wish to drag a piece of her down into hell with him?

She broke down, sobbing into his shoulder, clutching at the fabric as if she would never let go. She wanted to pin him to the tree so that he couldn't go to hell with Kikyou, she wanted to scream and shout against his chest. Fling curses his way. But she could not, it wasn't within her to do such things. He had made his choice, and she would not be selfish by requiring him to stay.

'I have decided Kagome. I am going to accompany Kikyou to hell. I wish I could stay here with you, for all time, and protect you from everything. But I owe her....'

He was silenced when Kagome pushed him away from her body. She would not hear him say that he owned the dead priestess his life. She would not stand to hear such words.

'Inu-yasha, do not treat as I am a stupid child. I know that you still love her, I know that I was only a passing face to you. I am well aware that I could never bring force those same feelings from you, towards me...'

She refused to meet his gaze as he stood up, looking to her with pain and hurt deep in his golden eyes. He had pushed her away many times, he never expected for Kagome to push him away. He watched the silver tears fall from her eyes as she refused to meet his gaze. 'It would be to selfish of me to ask that you be truthful with your emotions towards me ne?'

She sobbed as she pulled her bow from her back. If he was to go to hell with Kikyou, she would not watch him be pulled down by the dead priestess. She herself would be the one to send him there. With a calmness she reached over her shoulder and pulled forth from her quiver a single arrow. Notching it only the string, she let the bow remain at her side.

'Go Inu-yasha, join your loved one's side so that I may be able to send you there. It will be the quickest.'

She could feel his golden gaze on her, so she finally tilted her eyes up to meet with his. She could barely think through all the tears, could barely breathe with the look that he gave her than. He was pained, he truly did wish to stay with her, he had loved them both. Inu-yasha had loved Kagome, but his debt to Kikyou must be repayed. It was enough to turn her arrow on herself and end it all. She dropped her bow as she slung herself into his arms. She felt them wrap around her waist in urgency as she pressed her entire length against him. She felt him tilt her head back, looking down into her eyes. With little time left, he pressed his lips against her own, in a good-bye kiss. It was chaste, but it reflected the love that they held for each other. It didn't matter that the dead priestess was behind them, fuming in anger, it didn't matter that it was the last time.... just the kiss.

No one truly broke the hold, they just suddenly found themselves apart, Kagome once again holding the bow tight in her hands. She wiped away her tears as her lips burned from the kiss. She would not miss, her shot would be true and swift, this was all that she could do for her first love. He stood beside Kikyou, but did not embrace her as Kagome had originally thought. He let his gaze lock onto hers, he would not even blink. He wished his last memory, his last image to be of Kagome, standing in the clearing with her legs spread in stature, the bow held expertly in her delicate hands. The rough winds blew her hair out and around her, creating an image of power and strength. He even watched her strange clothes flicker in the winds.

'Good-bye.... my love.'

It was said by both. Kagome's mouth flickering in time with his. Their sad voices mingled in the air in front of them. With a final gasp of air from Kagome, she let the arrow loose, watching it fly it's path till it pierced the chest of Inu-yasha, effectively piercing his heart. No pain flashed across his face, just a dying look of adoration towards Kagome. A burst of miko power flared from the arrow, destroying Inu-yasha's body into ash, as it took the dead priestess as well.

As soon as the light was gone, Kagome collapsed onto the ground, her bow forgotten as she screamed out her pain into the vacant air around her.

"..............."

Kagome's eyes flickered in the light that poured from the open window. She could feel tears squeeze out of the corner of her eyes as she came into wakingfulness. She whimpered, lifting her hands to wipe at her tears, her one hand made it well to her face, but her left hand had trouble making it up. Her eyes snapped open, as she looked towards her left shoulder. It was bandaged, the white gauze-like fabric wrapped around her upper chest as well. It took her long enough for her to figure out why she was bandaged up like she was, before of course memory of the previous actions flooded her senses.

"Finally awake? Lazy miko, never seen someone sleep through a whole day...."

She flickered her gaze over to the side, alighting on the form of Sesshomaru as he leaned against the wall of the room she was currently inhabiting. He said nothing about her tears, nor the noises that she made in her sleep. He would wait to question her about them later. 'As if you care about what happened! Kick her out at this very moment!!' Squishing his demonic voice between two mental fingers, he looked over Kagome once more before exiting the room, stalking his way to his study with precision and grace.

Kagome was left to flop back onto the bed ungracefully and sigh as she tugged the blankets closer to her chin.

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Authors Note: Better? Longer? I would most appreciate to receive reviews.